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Judo Belt Test

Belt test in Judo tonight. I did ok, considering I was partnered with a guy a foot taller and 50 pounds heavier than me. Needless to say, I was tired when it was over. He really gets me up in the air on ippon and I get to do a really nice, hard breakfall. You know, the kind that wakes up your mom, who is sleeping in the audience. Plus everyone goes, “Oooooh.” Sometimes it’s more satisfying to do a great breakfall than a great throw. Not that I ever do great throws, but I’m hoping to someday.

The hardest part of the test for me is usually the interview. I always end up talking the the Grandmaster, who is Korean. He is an incredible judoka, and it’s an honor to even bow to him. But I can’t understand a thing he says. He doesn’t speak very good English, I know about five Korean words, and he’s asking me questions in Japanese. Recipe for disaster. He probably thinks I’m a blithering idiot because I always end up saying “I don’t know sir.” But I honestly have no idea what he is saying.

CrossFit is going great! I just got my rings in the mail the other day. It’s a lot harder than it looks on TV. But my 5K times are down, my pushup and sit up numbers are up, I’m working on the pull ups, and my Oly lifts are not quite so terrifying anymore. I think it’s really helping with my martial arts as well. The other night in Judo class the Sensei came over and asked if I was ok. When I assured him I was, he said “Just checking, because you aren’t sweating.” Yeah, CrossFit!